The Season Of Giving
by Lushcoltrane
Summary: Like most jewels, Jade has many hidden facets.


The Season Of Giving

by

John O'Connor

"What the hell are you doing here?" Jade asked as she stood in the doorway. She wasn't surprised at her visitor but that didn't irk her any less.

"Well, it's Christmas Eve, your parents are both out of town and you didn't come to the party so I... Well, no one should be alone on Christmas."

"Jeez Vega, didja think I wasn't there because..."

"You had to wrap up a present for me?"

Jade gave Tori a look and then said, "No. I... Listen, it's complicated and I'm tired and... Oh, just go back to the rest of them and have fun."

Tori looked right back at Jade, "No. You're coming with me. Our friends want to share Christmas with you. So go do what you need – take a shower or get some coffee or whatever. Then you're coming with me."

Jade sighed deeply. "You won't go away, will you?"

"Nope!" Tori intentionally popped the 'P'.

"Come in. Give me a few minutes..."

Tori sat on the antique couch in the antique living room. She remembered the first time she was here and how nervous she was to even touch the furniture. Jade had to tell her, "It's not a museum. You can sit down. Just don't pee on it or spill anything..."

Smiling at the memory of a time at the beginning of their real friendship, Tori waited for her friend to get ready to go.

Soon enough, Jade came down the winding staircase and into the living room, wearing a black t-shirt and black skinny jeans. "Well?"

"You couldn't wear something more seasonal?"

"Apparently no," Jade replied.

Tori shrugged, "Alright, let's go."

"You're driving," Jade stated.

"I know." In truth, Tori had become their de facto driver once she got her license and her parents followed through their promise to buy her a car during the Yerba mess. She was actually very proud of her car, a late model Toyota Camry. It wasn't a muscle car like Jade's Challenger or Beck's GTO but it was a good car and she could squeeze in just about everyone when they went somewhere, as long as Cat sat on someone's lap.

"So where were you?" Tori asked.

"Home," Jade replied simply.

"No you weren't." Tori could feel Jade's eyes glaring at her. "I'm not stalking you. Andre told me he saw you driving towards the City Center earlier."

"Yeah, so?"

"You hate downtown. Remember when we all went to Little Tokyo a few months ago? All you could say was that we could just go to B.F. Wangs or Nozu... Too many people and traffic was a bitch? Remember?" Tori asked sarcastically.

"Well it is. Too crowded and traffic's a nightmare."

"You weren't even driving that time," Tori said in an exasperated tone.

"Whatever..."

"So where were you going?"

Jade sighed again, "You want to know?"

"Yes."

"You really want to know?"

"Yes."

"You really, really want to know?"

"This won't work. I will ask you until you tell me."

Tori heard a muttered, "Shit." Then Jade said, "Alright, I was at a homeless shelter serving people dinner for the holidays. A group of us take turns on Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Easter. A full turkey dinner with all the trimmings and gifts of items they need like coats, gloves, socks, boots, what have you. Well, baked ham on Easter"

"Really?" Tori asked.

"You don't think I could make up a better lie? How long have we known each other?"

"Okay, so how long and..."

"We're here," Jade announced as she got out of the car.

"I didn't even come to a full stop!" Tori called uselessly.

Regardless, she followed the other girl into her house. Questions could wait.

The gang crowded around Jade after she freed herself from Cat's suffocating hug. Egg nog was consumed, finger foods were eaten, holiday wishes were exchanged, Jade was forced to meet Vega family members she'd never remember.

Uncle Terence and his wife, Aunt Juliette, were in from Miami for the holidays. There were others there as well. Tori's Aunt Sophie who was David's younger sister and their middle brother, Jimmy, were there as well. There were coworkers of both Holly and David there as well.

Sophie spent a lot of time with Jade, who surprisingly didn't mind as the woman had some great stories about the future singer.

Jade was laughing, "So, what was she? Like 6 years old?"

Sophie shook her head as she chuckled, "No, I think Tori was 13."

"Oh my God! Vega?"

"Aunt Sophie? Um, Dad needs your help…" Tori interrupted before her aunt could tell Jade any more embarrassing stories.

They were all having a good time. After everyone had enjoyed a couple of glasses of nog, Holly found out Jimmy had spiked it. She decided none of the teens would be driving that night. They could use Lyft, Uber or a taxi if they didn't stay over.

Cat wanted to crash with Trina – Jade wondered about them but shrugged since she really didn't care, as long as they were happy and especially left her alone.

The boys got the living room floor or the couches. Robbie was the only one to select one of the arced sofas.

With Tori's aunt and uncle visiting, the guest room was taken. The girls had to share Tori's bed, to much grumbling from Jade. Tori finally said, "Fine! You don't want to share the bed? Sleep on the floor or on the other couch downstairs."

"No! Not the way Robbie snores!" At that point, Robbie let out a honker and Tori winced nodding. Then she gave jade a questioning look. The dark girl shook her head and said, "I found out when he nodded off in study hall. It's pretty bad."

With that, they laid down with a small space between them. "Do not cross this area!"

"Yes, Jade..." Tori sighed. Then, "So about earlier..."

"Good night, Vega," Jade cut her off.

Around 3 AM, Tori woke up for a moment when she felt a warm weight on her. Jade's arm was draped across her torso as the darker girl snored softly into Tori's pillow.

Tori smiled and fell back to sleep.

The next morning, at 7 AM, Jade's phone alarm went off.

"Vega, get up!"

"Mmmmumph...huh? Why?"

"You have to take me home so I can go do...what I need to today."

Tori glanced at her clock, "But it's only 7. There's no rush to..."

"Get up!" Jade yanked the blanket from Tori, noting for the first time, those long, shapely legs below her extra-large t-shirt.

Tori slowly stumbled to her bathroom, "There's no rush, even shelters sleep in…" As she brushed her teeth, she leaned out of the door, "You did it lass nigh…" Rinsing her mouth, she tried again, "You did it last night. Said you and some others took turns."

"I have other things to do. Stop being so nosy. I still carry a pair of scissors sharp enough to snip the end of that snoopy nose…"

Soon enough, they were at the front door after Tori made a point of making sure Jade didn't wake the boys. However, just before Tori pulled the door closed, Jade leaned in and yelled at the lumps in the living room, "WAKE THE HELL UP!"

"JADE!?"

"VEGA!"

By the time the two were at Tori's car, the entire house was awake.

As Tori drove down the slope from her neighborhood, Jade commanded, "Stop at Jet Brew! It's on..."

"I know where it is!"

"My, my, Ah'm oh so testy in the mawnin'..."

"I don't talk like that! And you'd be testy too if you expected to sleep until at least 9..."

"I'll buy you one too, okay?"

"Well, it's a start. Now what the hell is going on?"

"We're here. Two sugars."

"I know how you like it!" Tori turned to the drive-thru speaker, "Two coffees. One large with two sugars and one extra-large black."

Thanks to crappy drive-thru speakers and an unidentified accent, Tori barely heard the garbled reply except "Please pull around to the window."

In a few minutes, they were on the way to Jade's home. When Tori asked Jade what her plans were for the day, Jade started and maintained a running monologue about her parents inviting her to join them - her father in Hawaii and her mother in New York but she passed to avoid the usual holiday hell.

Tori pulled up in front of the West home and merely said, "Merry Christmas Jade."

Expecting more of a 'Bah, humbug!', Jade surprised her by saying, "Merry Christmas Tori."

Tori started to head home but her curiosity got the better of her and she pulled back around to park down the block where she could see Jade's garage entrance. While she waited, she texted her family that she was out with Jade so they wouldn't worry. _Or at least know who to suspect…_ she thought with a wicked grin.

After an hour, she regretted getting the extra-large coffee and considered driving somewhere to find a restroom so she could whaz when Jade pulled out of her garage and headed towards the downtown area again.

Forgetting her need for facilities for the time being, Tori waited a long moment then pulled out to follow. It was hard to keep back on the surface streets but once they crossed Sunset, traffic increased. This made it easier for Tori to blend in but she lost track of Jade's car several times.

Jade pulled into the large parking lot of an old church in a run-down neighborhood near the Los Angeles River. They were a little east of Union Station and the railyards there. A few blocks further west were L.A. City Hall and the Parker Center, the HQ of the LAPD. Tori knew this particular area was predominantly Hispanic where it wasn't industrial.

She pulled in and parked near the back of the lot, away from Jade's car. Going in the side entrance to the church annex, in the middle of a long hallway, Tori saw the one of the parish priests greeting Jade.

When she tried to duck back, Jade, without even looking at her, called, "Vega, come here!"

"How...how did you know?"

"I saw you down the street from my house before I left. I haven't seen you stalking me before so I knew it had to be that irritating curiosity and your unfailing desire to help people whether they want it or not.

"Father Mike, this is Tori Vega. She's a...friend from school."

The priest, a 50-something man with a kind smile, took Tori's hand, "Nice to meet you Tori. I'm Michael Corchran, the pastor of this parish. But call me Father Mike like everyone else " He smiled, "Even my mother… You here to help Jade with the kids?"

"I...uh... Well, I was just..." She glanced at Jade who had a smug look on her face and whispered, "Shut up!" As Jade barked out a laugh, Tori turned back to Father Mike, "I guess so... What, um, are we doing?"

"I'm Santa Claus and you'll be my helpful elf."

"Yes, Roberto normally is Santa's helper but he's down with the flu."

Jade turned to the priest, "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. I hope he'll be okay?"

"His wife says he's already better. This time last year, I don't know if we could say the same when they were still living out of their car."

Tori glanced back and forth, a little lost by the conversation. Jade saw this and smirked then said, "C'mon Vega. You can help me get into costume. I'm pretty sure you'll fit the costume I have for you."

"For...for me?"

Jade called back, "Again, sorry Father Mike, for missing the early service."

"There's always noon mass," came the reply.

Grabbing Tori's wrist, Jade pulled her into a small room off the hallway. Closing the old, wooden door, Jade said, "Okay. Help me with my padding."

"Wait, I gotta whaz…"

"Well, hurry up. I need your help."

A few minutes later, and much relieved, Tori held up the body foam shape with the backstraps dangling as she tried to ignore Jade stripping again in front of her. Soon enough, Jade said, "Okay, help me out here. Don't worry about my girls. You certainly didn't when you manhandled me into that stupid cheeseburger costume. Or the cheese wedge at your sister's lame-ass show."

"Jade, we're in a church," as she pushed Jade's boobs under the fat suit.

"No, we're in the admin annex. The chapel is the big, fancy room in front," Jade explained snidely.

Tori just sighed and cinched one of the straps tight. She was rewarded by a gasp from Jade.

Tori helped Jade put on the red suit over the fat body suit. Jade pointed to the rack of clothes across the room, "I'll do the beard and crap. You put on your outfit."

"My outfit? Which one?"

"You'll know."

Indeed, Tori found the costume she wore next to the ones Jade and Cat used the previous Christmas to help Andre improve his grade. She smiled even as she wondered about the whys and hows.

As if she read Tori's mind, Jade said, "Got those from the school. They wrote it off as a donation. I didn't know if they'd ever be used but better here than rotting in a storage closet in Hollywood Arts." Jade looked Tori up and down then added, "You fill it out better this year. Just get those cheesy Vulcan ears from the shelf over there."

Tori found a plastic bag with oversized pointed ears. The tag proved they were knock-offs since they were labelled 'genuine alien ears'. They fit over her own ears with a small hole that allowed limited sound transmission to her ears than solid rubber would. Still, it was muffled when Jade spoke to her.

"How do they feel?" Jade asked again, with a smirk. The big rubber ears were more of a joke between Roberto and Jade. She never expected Tori to take them seriously.

"Huh? Oh...weird."

"Yeah, and that pale white looks stupid against your natural color. C'mere." Jade led Tori to a desk along the far wall. "Sit down and relax."

Jade yanked the ears off and then pulled out a small make-up kit. Soon, Tori had elf ears that matched her skin tone. She also enjoyed Jade's gentle application of the prosthetics and the make-up used to blend the fake flesh to her own.

"There, right out of a Peter Jackson movie…"

Looking in the small mirror Jade handed her, Tori said, "Wow, Jade, it looks great. I know where the fake starts but...I can't see it."

"Thanks Vega. Now, c'mon, we have kids waiting..."

"But you hate kids! When we did that stupid food song..."

"I don't hate kids. I hate those kind who are born privileged and end up taking everything for granted. Including expecting some kiddy pop group to entertain them. The kids we're going to see don't have that. Or a lot else."

Before they entered the sacristy, Jade said, "Like the adults, the kids got clothes and things they needed last night. Today is just to bring them some joy and happiness. Okay?"

Tori nodded.

Jade gestured for Tori to precede her into the church itself. In front of the altar, a recliner was set up with a Christmas tree next to it. There was a large bag in front of the tree and several others further back in the sacristy.

As Jade instructed, Tori walked out and stood next to the big chair. Some limited cheers and murmurs followed her entrance. Father Mike came out and the crowded chapel echoed with applause and whistles. "Okay! Okay! Calm down. Thank you. Now, you know Santa makes his rounds on Christmas Eve but, for you kids, he always makes a special stop here to be with you."

Cheers erupted as Father Mike called out, "Okay Boys and Girls! Here he is…Santa Claus!"

To deafening cheers, Jade strolled out, "Ho-ho-ho! Merry Christmas boys and girls!"

Tori was impressed. Jade took her angry New York cabbie voice but without the attitude she used in improv. She walked over to the chair and sat down, throwing an aside to Tori, "Get ready, Leggylass."

Refraining from sticking out her tongue at Santa, Tori just gave her an evil eye.

"Now, who's first?"

Father Mike checked a sheet of paper he had and said, "According to the list you checked twice Santa, little Maria Gomez."

Tori, based on the brief instructions, looked for the box with Maria's name on it. She handed it to Santa, whispering, "Here you go, Sanity Clause…"

"Nice Marx Brothers reference, Leggy." Jade whispered back. Turning to the little girl she boosted to her lap, "Maria, I saw that you were a good girl this year. Is that right?"

"Si," the little one said followed by a string of Spanish.

Tori leaned over to whisper, "She said…"

"Believe it or not, Leggy, Santa knows Spanish." She turned back to the girl who was clutching a beautiful Latina doll to her chest with a big smile on her face. She said some quiet words and then lifted the girl to her feet again.

"Gracias!" she said happily.

Jade said a few more words then it was the next child's turn.

"Santa, next is Lee Takanaka."

A young Asian boy scampered up and jumped into Santa's lap, earning him an "Ooomph!" from the faux fat man.

"Children, please don't jump on Santa," Father Mike chided the group.

Tori found the box with Lee's name on it and passed it to Jade. This time, the gift was a Nascar brand stock car. He squealed with delight and thanked Santa before disappearing into the crowd.

A new elf came out to start bagging the wrapping paper as it was torn from the gifts by the eager tykes. He also replaced the empty bags with new ones. There were five bags total.

The next boy, Alfonso Maroni, got a Saturn 5 model kit.

And so on, as if Santa knew exactly what each child wanted. Tori found she had to blink several times as she saw how happy each child was with something as simple as a doll or a race car or a model.

"Steady, Vega. Bottle the emotions like Sikowitz taught us," Jade whispered. Tori nodded as she remembered the method acting that their teacher espoused.

The singer was surprised at the ethnic makeup of the crowd. She expected Hispanic children and even Asians due to their proximity to Little Tokyo and Chinatown but there were African-American, white, Native American, Pacific islanders, Hindu-Pakistani and members of just about any group someone could name.

Most were Catholic but there were many from other Christian faiths as well as kids from just about every other religious group – Muslim, Judaic, Hindu, Buddhist and others.

One child pointed out Santa had on eyeliner. "Why do you have make up, Santa?"

Tori stepped forward, "Well, you know it's all white and snowy at the North Pole. Santa uses it like athletes to keep out the glare."

"Really?"

"Oh yes. Santa really used it a year or so ago. He almost looked like a raccoon," Tori snickered. The little girl giggled and Santa shot daggers at 'his' elf.

Over two and a half hours later, the last gift from the last bag was passed to a slightly older child. Her name as Li Kwan and she got exactly what she wanted, a baseball and bat.

"Children, Santa's had a long day and night so he'll be going now but don't forget, he knows when you've been bad or good. Just like our Lord," Father Mike chided.

"Merry Christmas, Boys and Girls! Be good and I'll be back next year! Ho-ho-ho!"

Tori made another bee line for the women's' room then returned to the room they used as a changing room. "Wow!"

A weak voice said, "Tori?"

Turning, Tori saw her friend, white beard in one hand and the other reaching towards her. Tori pulled her into a hug as Jade started to cry quietly. She let her emotions go as well and the two cried into each other's shoulder.

Finally, Jade pulled back. "You going to be okay?"

Tori sniffed, wiping her eyes, and nodded. "You?"

After a moment, Jade nodded, "Yeah… It's so hard to see all these kids who have no home and… It's not even their families' fault in so many cases. Most cases. Some do come from broken homes and they and their mother or father have nowhere to go. Others are just people who have fallen on hard times and…

"You know the old saying, 'There but for the grace of God…'?" Tori nodded. "Well, that's what this and the shelter dinners prove to me all the time."

"How long have you done this?"

"Since I was 14. Those first two years, I came with my dad's sister, Aunt Jeannie. Her job transferred her just before I got my license so I kept coming on the holidays. Thanksgiving, Christmas and Christmas Eve, even Easter."

"Wow. Jade, that's so…" Tori smiled, "I'm glad you shared this with me. It feels good but its sad at the same time. I wish I could do more…"

"You serious? They always need food – canned goods, noodles and other stuff that doesn't require refrigeration. Of course, they can always use clothing at the shelters. I've cleaned out my parents' closets of the stuff they never wear any more. And, once a month, I go shopping for canned and boxed food for the local shelter. It's not much but it's a help."

"I wanna do that too!" Tori declared. She grabbed her phone and texted her mother about old clothes. Then she sent the same message to Sophie.

"Tori, look up," Jade said, noting the sprig of holly she hung earlier when Tori wasn't looking. "Pucker up, buttercup."

While still looking at the holly, Tori was pulled into a soft kiss.

A beep interrupted them as Tori looked at her phone. Her frown turned into a smile when she saw her mom's response. "Mom's in! She's got a ton of stuff she was going to give to the local church bazaar but this is better so I can bring a ton of stuff. Oh! Aunt Sophie's in too!"

"Maybe we might get a Christmas miracle and Trina could share some of her enormous, unneeded wardrobe. Except those ridiculous Italian shoes."

"No. No one needs that," Tori agreed.

Before they were interrupted to join in the noon mass, Tori glanced up and initiated the kiss.

Again a beep.

"Mom wants you to come for dinner. She said she won't take a no."

"Only if I can sit next to Sophie. She's got some great stories…"


End file.
